Role and maintenance of redox potential on chalcopyrite biohydrometallurgy: An overview

Chalcopyrite is one of the most important copper minerals; however, the extracted efficiency of chalcopyrite is still not satisfactory in hydrometallurgy owing to its high lattice energy which leads to its low dissolution kinetics. To overcome the difficulties, many advanced technologies have been developed, including the selection of high effectively bacteria, the inhibition of the passivation film adhered onto the minerals surface, and the maintenance of solution redox potential under an optimum range. Up to date, considerable researches on the first two terms have been summarized, while the overview of the last term has been rarely reported. Based on corresponding works in recent years, key trends and roles of solution redox potential in copper hydrometallurgy, including its definition, effect and maintenance, have been introduced in this review.